CM flags off Bhim Sansad raths

PATNA: Aiming at reaching out to the vast chunk of Dalits and backward classes ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday flagged off Bhim Sansad raths at a function organised at his official residence at 1, Anne Marg here. After the rath yatras, the Bhim Sansad will be held on Veterinary College ground here on November 5, where the JD(U) expects the presence of an impressive crowd.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes welfare minister Ratnesh Sada said the idea behind holding the Bhim Sansad was to "caution the deprived sections of the society about how the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was conspiring to scrap their reservation rights granted under Constitution".

Building construction minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary told newsmen on Tuesday during his 18 years in power, Nitish Kumar has empowered the Dalits and Mahadalits not only socially and politically, but also economically. "And it's our moral responsibility to make the common masses aware about it," he said, profusely thanking the CM for "transforming the fate of these sections".

He added the first thing Nitish did after coming to power in November 2005 was to form a separate department for the welfare of this marginalised class. "The annual budget of the welfare department, which was only Rs 40.48 crore at one point of time, has now come up to Rs 1,600 crore," Choudhary said, adding many people from these sections have also become village mukhiyas and this happened only because of the CM.

The development, coming close on the heels of the just released statistical data of the Bihar caste survey conducted by the state government, assumes much political significance. The survey has found the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) emerging as the largest block with their combined population pegged at 63.13% of state's total population.

Analysts said although various parties have been scrambling to woo the politically significant EBCs, they have gone into overdrive to win their support, especially after the recent caste survey brought out their "authentic" number for the first time in 92 years since the last caste census was held.